Brian Thacker's Blog, page 13

WIN a signed copy of Tell Them to Get Lost!

I'm giving away TWO signed copies of Tell Them to Get Lost. All you have to do is like me. Oh, and show me a potentially embarrasing photo of yourself. Just 'Like' the Brian Thacker Travel Writer Facebook page (you'll find the Facebook link below on the right) and post a pic of yourself on your first ever trip overseas (all the photos I've seen of those hippies in 1974 with their bell-bottom pants inspired me). That's me on the left  back in 1987 on my first trip overseas at Madam Tussauds in London. I'm not quite sure why I'm dancing with the Pope, but I do have very nice high pants (when Edwin jeans were cool). On the 21st November I'll pick two random winners, but you have to post a pic on the Facebook page! And just to embarrass myself a little further here are a few more photos from my first big trip OS…

Wearing my oh so bright brand new runners in a hotel room in Frankfurt on my first day on my first big trip OS!

Wearing my oh so bright brand new yellow ski jacket in Davos, Switzerland (I caught a train from Frankfurt and then spent three weeks blowing three months of travel budget skiing!)

Wearing my oh so cool sunglasses that I brought in 1986  (that were hidden away in a box for the 20 years until I discovered them and started wearing them again  - but minus the leather straps!)

Wearing my oh so cool Wayfarers, pink Lacoste  polo shirt and bright red socks. This is our bikie gang in Corfu, Greece.

Washing dishes in a kid's summer camp in Salzkammergut, Austria with Adam from NY. And after 4 months of travel my mullet was coming along nicely!

I'm not sure what I'm doing in this fountain in Strasbourg, France and I'm not sure why I insisted on tucking my T-shirts into my board shorts!

My first birthday overseas. Well, not my 1st birthday, but you know what I mean. I'm in Zermatt, Switzerland and the candles are in the goop that was dessert in the Zermatt Youth Hostel!

Okay, so now it's your turn. Let's see those mullets, high pants and maybe even a bell-bottom or two…

Getting lost with Brian Thacker.

I'm just back from the Singapore Writer's Festival, which was a blast. My sessions went well, I drank quite a few Tiger beers, ate the best dumplings I've ever eaten, hung out with a great bunch of writers and editors, caught up with a friend living in Singapore and checked out a shop called Naughty Sex Toys on Orchard Road. The crowds were great and at one of my panels they even had to close the doors 10 minute before because it was a full house.

Mind you, at another event of mine they put out about 40 chairs and 10 people turned up. That event was 'Meet the Author' and it took place in Malaysia. Okay, it wasn't Malaysia, but it was at the Woodlands Library in the far north of Singapore island near the bridge to Malaysia. I'd been in contact with the head librarian and we had this big event planned with a powerpoint presentation followed by an interesting Q&A session. I arrived at the library, which was full of locals, and my room for the presentation was all set up – including a table full of cakes and food and drinks. Then at the  four o'clock starting time we had… two people (well, five if you count to two librarians and Clara my personal liason girl who travelled with me from the city). We eventually rounded up a few more more punters, even though half of them were young kids and I had to quickly skip the slides about the 'SUPER PUSSY' club in Patong and the gay hotel in Bangkok. At least I didn't get lost like I did at the Ubud Writer's festival the week before.

One of my 'sessions' at the Ubud Writer's Festival was a Jalan Jalan, which was supposed to be a lovely walk out of Ubud across Campuhan ridge and ending up at a villa for breakfast. Except the two writer's festival volunteers didn't know where the villa was and we got lost. Then it started pouring with rain and we squeezed under a very narrow awning of someone's house. While one volunteer rode around in the rain on the back of a scooter trying to find the villa the other volunteer rang for a lift. We did eventually get to the very nice Villa Keliki in time for breakfast, although some of my flock were drenched through. At least my talks are exciting!

Here are some shots from the Singapore Writer's festival and a few shots I took when I checked out the very flash indeed Marina Bay Sands Hotel…

Where's Brian? The writer's wall.

There I am…

The very flash walkway between venues.

Standing room only!

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At least my fellow panelists were funny!

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel (with the an infinity pool on the roof stretching longer than the Eiffel tower laid down!)

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Not bad, eh?

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Some arty bridge near the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

Look out for my next blog  - I will running a competition to win one of three signed copies of Tell Them to Get Lost!

I'm off to the sunny smile isle.

I'm just about to jump on a plane to Singapore for the weekend. I'm doing three sessions/panels/talks at the Singapore Writer's Festival where I'll be waffling on about travel writing and my new book Tell Them to Get Lost. I've got a, what could be interesting/wacky session talking about travel and philosophy with Julian Baggini, plus a panel with a couple of local travel writers including Wee Cheng, who makes me look like a travel novice. He has been to 206 countries and territories over the last two decades and is is listed in the 2008 Book of Singapore Records as the most well-travelled Singaporean. And I finish off with a very 1974 slide show about my travels for Tell Them to Get Lost. It was in Singapore where I finished my travels in the same room at the Palace Hotel where Tony and Maureen Wheeler put together the first Lonely Planet South East Asia on a Shoestring. or as Tony Wheeler describes it: 'This book was entirely put together, typed, proof-read, designed, laid out, and pasted up in room two of the Palace Hotel in Singapore. Any mistakes I blame on the noise from the motorcycle repair shop downstairs and the less than ideal working conditions.' Except the hotel is now called the Madras Hotel Eminence and room No.2 is now half-room No.2 because the room had been divided into two smaller rooms and I didn't know if I was room No.2 or half of room No.4.

Well, gotta fly. If you happen to be in Singers drop in for a sling.

P.S. That magazine ad for Singapore above is from 1974. Here it is up big…

Magical Ubud.

The last two weeks have been tough. I just got back yesterday from the fabulous Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali and before that I was staying with my brother in Queensland for a week (who just happens to have a holiday house on Fraser Island). I love the Ubud Writer's Festival. It really is one of the best writer's festivals in the world (okay Janet, it IS the best!). There was the usual abundance of great authors and speakers accompanied by large and appreciative crowds all taking place in one of the most beautiful settings in the world (I'll write more about some of my events on my next blog). And of course I do have quite the soft spot for Ubud and the writer's festival because It was where I met my American Girl Beth three years ago. It was also nice to catch up with some of the lovely locals who featured in my new book Tell Them to Get Lost.

I had lunch a couple times at Canderi's Restaurant on Monkey Forest Road where in 1974 'the whole travelling population gathers at night to see Canderi perform miracles in her tiny kitchen'. Canderi was still in her tiny kitchen performing miracles 37 years later (although the kitchen is a bit bigger now). When I first visited Canderi three years ago she told me that she was 78 years old. 'How old are you now?' I asked when I met up with her this week.

'I'm seventy-eight,' she said.

'But you were seventy-eight three years ago!'

'I'm still seventy-eight,' Canderi said with a big grin.

Also when I visited three years ago Canderi's mum, Niketutmerti, was the oldest person in the village at 108. Sadly she passed away this year at the ripe old age of 110.

Canderi was very excited when I gave her a copy of my book and went around showing it proudly to the other lunchtime diners.

Canderi and my book.

Canderi is still cooking in that kitchen 37 years later!

I also dropped into Oka Watis (who featured in the book), but she was in Denpasar visiting family, so sadly I didn't get a chance to catch up. I did leave a copy of my book for her though…

I've only been back a day and I miss Ubud and Bali already!

Grasshopper, Abigail and other 1974 TV hits.

When Tony and Maureen Wheeler set off at the beginning of 1974 for a year to research South East Asia on a Shoestring (which was the inspiration for my book Tell Them to Get Lost) they would have missed watching such classic TV shows as The Ernie Sigley Show, The Box, Happy Days and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. Then again, leaving the country wasn't a bad idea after all. 1974 saw the premier of quite a few long-standing TV shows including Happy Days (1974–1984), Little House on the Prairie and Molly Meldrum's Countdown (1974–1987). 1974 also saw the end of some brillaint TV shows including The Brady Bunchh (1969–1974), The Partridge Family (1970–1974) and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971–1974).

The top 14 (why 14, I don't know) TV shows in Australia were:

1. $25,000 Great Temptation

2. Kung Fu



3. Ironside

4. The Ernie Sigley Show

5. Matlock Police



6. Number 96



7. Monty Python's Flying Circus

8. Homicide

9. The Box

10. M*A*S*H

11. Barnaby Jones

12. Division 4

13. The Streets of San Franciso

14. The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour

The Top 20 TV shows in the US in 1974 included such classics as The Waltons, Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, The Six Million Dollar Man, Happy Days and Adam 12.

And the TV ads were even better. There was Sherbet singing about Coke…

…Uncle Sam singing about Uncle Sam…

…and you can't forget the talented Anne Wills singing about Ken Eustace Datsun.

You can buy 'Tell them to Get Lost' online here or buy the e-book here .

Coming up next: Stud Brown, Foxy Brown and other 1974 movie hits.

Baby you can drive my 1974 car.

When Tony Wheeler set off to research South east Asia on a Shoestring in 1974 (which was the inspiration for my book Tell Them to Get Lost) he owned an old Austin-Healy Sprite (which he picked up for only $350 because it didn't have second gear). But I bet he daydreamed about having a Ford Gran Torino. Cue Starsky and Hutch opening music. One of my favourite cars of all time was the 1974 Ford Gran Torino (driven by David Starsky). I so wanted that 'striped tomato' (as Hutch dubbed it). And I so wanted Starsky's big white woolen jacket. I pleaded with my mum to get me one, but I had as much luck as asking for a Gran Torino. In Australia in 1974, however, all the hip surfie-hippie cats were cruising around in a Holden HQ Sandman (if the van's a rockin', don't bother knockin'). A friend of my brother had one and he even decked it out with carpet walls and a mirrored ceiling. Yeah, baby. They looked something like this…

And yes, for all those car aficionados out there, I know it's a HZ and not a HQ, but it was the best photo I found (and it had a girl in a bikini).

The biggest-selling car in Australia in 1974 was the Holden Kingswood, and the "Deluxe Vacationer" model sold for a little under $5000 (which was equipped to give you the greatest holiday ever)…

The 1974 equivalent of the 'Bogun' would have driven (or dreamed of driving) the Monaro, which made you enjoy motoring all over again (while drinking a stubbie and sucking on a Winfield Red).

While the 'ladies' would probably have been cruising about in one of these…

And all those old folks who thought those bloody hippies should just get a haircut would have driven around in something like this…

You can buy 'Tell them to Get Lost' online here or buy the e-book here .

Coming up next: Grasshopper, Abigail and other 1974 TV hits.

Air travel (and mini skirts) in 1974.

When the Wheelers flew to South East Asia to research South east Asia on a Shoestring in 1974 (which was the inspiration for my book Tell Them to Get Lost) they flew TAA and wore bell-bottom jeans and floral shirts. The non-hippies in the 1970s, however, would often dress up in their Sunday best for a flight – men wore suits with ties and women would don their best dresses (even kids wore suits!). Air travel was still a novelty back then and in 1974, only 207 million well-dressed folks took to the skies. That might sound like a lot, but compare that to today when more than 2.5 billion passengers jump on a plane each year. Back then, there was no point in shopping around for the best deal, either, because governments regulated airfares and all the prices were the same. If a return ticket between Sydney and Singapore was $327 on one airline, it was $327 on all the airlines.

Airlines needed a point of difference to attract customers, so stewardesses began wearing miniskirts and hotpants to appeal to the predominantly male business passenger. The airlines then tried to outdo each other by advertising the fact that they had 'the sexiest stewardesses' – looking something like this…

They even went as far as to design skirts that would 'accidentally' ride up when the stewardesses reached up (there must have been a lot of, 'Excuse me, can you get my bag from the overhead locker?'). Although they wouldn't need much riding up for a view when they dressed like this (catch our smile indeed)…

One airline, Braniff International Airways, went all out (so to speak), promoting an 'Air Strip' campaign. And yes, it was as bad as it sounds: stewardesses would change uniforms mid-flight. Although on some airlines the stewardesses were hardly dressed anyway (and those boots couldn't have been too comfortable on a 10 hour shift)…

…or showed even more skin (and more of those uncomfortable boots – that style must have been popular!)

Another way for airlines to distinguish themselves from the competition was the food and service. I found a menu from a 1974 first-class flight with Swiss Air, and on the menu were real turtle soup, imported Malossol caviar with melba toast, slices of foie gras de Strasbourg with pumpernickel, fresh cold lobster bellevue and roast pheasant en cocotte with Mascotte potatoes and leaf spinach salad. Passengers often adjourned to separate dining rooms, with accompanying piano bar, and tables were set with crisp linens and fine silverware (back when we could be trusted with cutlery). A First class 'bar' looked like this…

This was the 'Polynesian Pub' on a Continental Airlines 747. Airline executives would look at a photo like that today and say,' We could get 87 economy seats in that space.' Ah, to fly in the 70s – Polynesian Pubs, mini skirts, mid-riff revealing tops and Harvey Wallbangers and devilled sausages all round.

You can buy 'Tell them to Get Lost' online here or buy the e-book here .

Coming up next: Baby you can drive my 1974 car

My Coo Ca Choo and other hits from 1974.

When Tony and Maureen travelled for a year through South East Asia in 1974 (which was the inspiration for my new book Tell Them to get Lost) the only music they would have had the chance to listen to would have been the odd LP playing in a bar or a local radio station. There wasn't even a Walkman to listen to (the first Walkman didn't come out till 1979). Mind you, they probably would have been better off not listening to any current music anyway – particularly if they were playing the big hits of 1974. Those hits included the number-one selling song 'My Coo Ca Choo' by Alvin Stardust plus other top-50 songs such as 'Love Will Keep Us Together' by The Captain and Tennille, 'Morning Side of The Mountain' by Donny and Marie Osmond, 'Bad Blood' by Neil Sedaka and 'Mandy' by Barry Manilow.

There were some good songs released in 1974, however, including 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' by Elton John, 'Sorrow' by David Bowie, 'Sweet Home Alabama' by Lynyrd Skynyrd and 'You're Sixteen' by Ringo Starr. Here are the top selling singles in Australia in 1974:

1. My Coo Ca Choo – Alvin Stardust

2. Billy Don't Be A Hero – Paper Lace

3. Evie (Part 1) – Stevie Wright

4. The Night Chicago Died – Paper Lace

5. Seasons In The Sun – Terry Jacks

6. Farewell Aunty Jack – Grahame Bond



7. I Am Pegasus – Ross Ryan

8. Leave me Alone (Ruby Red Dress) – Helen Reddy

9. The Ballroom Blitz – The Sweet



10. I Love You, I Honestly Love You – Olivia Newton-John

11. The Lord's Prayer – Sister Janet Mead

12. Devil Gate Drive – Suzi Quatro

13. Can't Stop Myself From Loving You – William Shakespeare



14. You're Having My Baby – Paul Anka with Odia Coates

15. Sorrow – David Bowie

16. I Love You Love Me Love – Gary Glitter

17. Sugar Baby Love – The Rubettes

18. Kung Fu Fighting – Carl Douglas

19. Photograph – Ringo Starr

20. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John

It's easy to pick the best song from 1974, though. It has to be the sheer genius that is this…

Coming up next: Grasshopper, Abigail and other 1974 TV hits.

You can buy 'Tell them to Get Lost' online here or buy the e-book here .

McFried Grasshoppers and other photos.

There is a new addition to my website. The Tell Them to Get Lost mini-site is up and running (just click on the book over there in the bottom right hand corner). On the site you will find the blurb for the book, an extract, links to some of the old hotels and restaurants in the book, a link to buy the book or ebook online (feel free use that one as often as you like!) and my photo album page with over 100 photos from my journey following Tony and Maureen Wheeler's trip around South East Asia using the original 1974 South East Asia on a Shoestring as my only guidebook. Amongst the pics you will find photos of me eating fried grasshoppers (burnt and crispy on the outside and gooey like snot in the middle), me swimming with a crocodile (or a beach that had crocodiles that I knew nothing about), me wearing hot pink pants and Tony and Maureen Wheeler wearing bell-bottom pants.

Oh, and if you fancy listening to me waffle on about my new book you can listen to my interview on the Detours travel show on JOYFM here.

My book launch and key party.

Okay, I may have looked a little like a pimp, but that's how the cool dudes dressed in 1974. And that's how I dressed for the  book launch of Tell Them to Get Lost on Thursday night. I did get a few stares walking to Readings Bookshop in St Kilda, because St Kilda is also hooker central and I looked like a pimp (or a cliched 1970s pimp at least). The launch was fab and a good crowd of cool dudes and groovy chicks turned up to watch my very 1970s slide show followed by a key party. The only things missing were devilled sausages, Harvey Wallbangers and a few tabs of LSD. Here's some photos from the night (I left out a few because I didn't think think the orgy photos were appropriate for my younger audience)…

The nibblies (and my saggy 1974 bottom)

The pimp on his green velour throne and the slide show.

The crowd – well, my family members and a couple of strays.

The book signing (although my quill seems to be in my hat).

My fans love me so much!

These fans flew in that morning from Minnesota, USA for the launch

Happy book buyers (although Mark on the left was a bit confused and purchased the wrong book)

My pants are high aren't they?

And for those of you that missed the launch here's me waffling on in the 'official' Random House TV video (that's me before my recent haircut)…